Breaking the Chains
by feelthesarcasm
Summary: WARNING:Dual Destinies spoilers. Athena worries about the well-being of Simon Blackquill as he struggles with his new popularity. Apollo is back to his old self but still too afraid to get close to someone again. He winds up confiding in the one person who he thinks can understand him best. Cykesquill, Apollo/Aura and Simon/Aura (Brother-Sister Relationship)
1. Chapter 1

- This story takes place immediately following Turnabout for Tomorrow and closing cutscenes of Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies.

Pairings: The story will focus on Athena/Simon, Apollo/Aura and Simon and Aura's silbling relationship. There will also be a lot of flashbacks to 11yo Athena/21yo Simon as well.

* * *

It had been about a month since that final case and things were just beginning to calm down and get back to some kind of normalcy. Athena Cykes had been cleared of both the murder of Clay Terran and her mother seven years ago. Simon Blackquill had also been acquitted of the murder of Athena's mother which he had spent seven long years in prison for. And the Phantom had finally been captured after years of pursuit by the government and Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth.

Everyone has assembled to the courthouse as a press conference was finally being held to give the press and public all the information surrounding what really as behind the HAT-1 miracle and Space Center bombings. While Wright and Edgeworth, along with the police were outside taking questions, Athena, Apollo, Trucy and Juniper waited inside.

"It'll be nice to finally have all of this over with." Athena whispered to Junie as she watched the press conference through a window, hands on her hips.

"It will be. It's so much information though. Explaining how the courtroom bombing, the murder from seven years ago and then the murder of Clay Terran. It's almost unbelievable that all of it were by the hand of one person. How's...he doing?" Junie asked, gesturing over to Apollo.

Over the past month, things had been a bit awkward at the Agency. Though Athena had forgiven Apollo for doubting her innocence, he still felt guilty about letting his emotions overwhelm him to that point.

"Oh don't you worry your pretty little head about Polly, he's going to be just fine. He still hangs onto a little of the guilt but Athena and daddy have been reassuring him that he's still an important part of this family." Trucy giggled, bouncing slighty in her standing position.

"Oh Junie is always going to worry her head off for Apollo." Athena teased, nudging her friend in the shoulder.

"Thena! You stop that right now." She demanded, growing quiet when Apollo strolled his way over.

"How much longer do you think the press conference is going to be? I'm starving." He huffed.

"You're always starving, so save it. There's a lot of information to cover. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it myself." Athena responded, rubbing her head.

"Do you think HE will talk to the press as well? They've been dying to hear what he has to say after of this." Trucy wondered.

"Something tells me that Simon Blackquill isn't really the press conference type of person." Apollo snickered. "Actually, I haven't seen him around here anywhere. Or that killer bird that's normally on his shoulder."

Athena let out a soft sigh, low enough so she could hear herself but no one else could. She was worried about Blackquill. She had spoke to him briefly after the case and he even went out with them for noodles as celebration, but she hadn't seen him since then.

"Knowing him, he would probably threaten them with death or Taka for taking pictures." She joked.

"I can't believe that you and Blackquill knew each other. I was in the courtroom with the both of you and neither of you ever gave the impression that you knew one another. My bracelet didn't even sense it! When Aura told me, I didn't believe her at first." Apollo recalled, from his conversations with the other Blackquill offspring when he was off conducting his own investigation.

"Yes, well…..I didn't want you or boss to know about my past, because I wasn't even able to face it myself yet. And then when I saw Si…Prosecutor Blackquill, it had been so many years, I wasn't sure how prison had changed him. I wasn't expecting to see him anytime soon, definitely not as a Prosecutor, shackled….but we had to help Jinxie and her dad, and I had to do my job." Athena explained. She was going through so many emotions when she watched Blackquill being escorted to the courtroom. She was relieved that he was still alive for one, but then saddened by his hardened, anger appearance and guilty seeing him shackled. Still, the first thing she really wanted to do was run over and hug him, but she wasn't sure who he was anymore or if he was even happy to see her.

"Well you did great against him during that case and the one at the Academy considering the circumstances you were under. You didn't hold anything back! And now he's a free man, able to terrorize the courtroom and the masses with his cryptic, sarcastic death threats shackle free. Now that I think about it….I don't think I like that idea." Apollo gulped.

"Yes Thena! Knowing all you were going through facing him while you defended me and my friends, makes me even more grateful!" Junie exclaimed, hugging her.

"And now, it's all over and we're both free from that burden we've been carrying and hopefully the dark age of the law." Though, Athena wasn't completely convinced of that. Was Blackquill truly free from everything that had gone on? Were any of them?

Just then, Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth had made their way back inside, the press conference finally over.

"That was very long and drawn out." Wright mumbled, wiping his forehead.

"YES IT WAS. I've been in here starving this entire time." Apollo exclaimed.

"Relax those chords Apollo, with all the information finally out for the public we should all have an easier time. But for now, it's time for lunch. Ms. Woods, you are welcome to join us."

Junie smiled and extended her hand. "Please, call me Juniper or Junie. And as much as I'd love to, I must get back to the Academy. I offered to help Hugh with his exams. I'll call you later Thena and hopefully you too Apollo." She added, blushing.

"See you later Junie!" Apollo shouted as Athena shook her head, he was completely clueless, as usual.

"I'll catch up with you guys in a minute, I just have to ask someone something." Athena alerted, heading off in the opposite direction. "Excuse me, Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth?"

Miles turned around and proceeded to shake her hand. "Ms. Cykes, what can I do for you? I promise the press conference was handled with great respect to your situation."

She nodded and shook his hand. "I'm not worried about that, I know you handled that wonderfully, but I was wondering…..if you have seen Prosecutor Blackquill."

Miles had not really been shocked by her interest in checking up on him. "He's not here today. I of course, briefed him on what we would be discussing at this press conference and that it would possibly, be best that he spoke to the press directly but he refused and then requested a brief leave of absence. I granted it, feeling it'd be best he had time to adjust to the outside world again, without having to worry about cases."

A leave of absence….much like Apollo had requested when his emotions had led him to that dark obsession with finding Clay's killer. "Okay, thank you." She responded before quickly running off to catch up with the others.

"Everything okay?" Trucy asked as Athena appeared at her side.

"Yeah, everything is just fine."

Fine…..maybe everything should be fine but things were far from fine. Though many personal battles had ended for the lawyer trio, they still had some healing to do.

* * *

No one, however had more healing to do…..than Simon Blackquill.

He huffed softly as he looked into the mirror at himself. Slowly, he turned and headed back into the living room of his apartment, well technically it was Aura's apartment but he would be staying there at least until she got released. Simon had the most healing to do. He was finally free of his shackles and conviction, but freedom wasn't always easy. Getting use to the outside world again was difficult and even though he had put on a very brave, stone cold demeanor, he was only 24 hours away from being executed. And now that everyone knew the truth about his conviction and why he confessed, it brought him attention he wasn't interested in. He had watched the press conference and a reporter had even asked if Simon were considered a hero for protecting a child. Just the word made him cringe.

As he was finally set free, his sister, Aura was sent to prison for taking hostages in the Space Center in her desperation to keep him from being executed. Though he was planning on asking Wright to defend his sister, he knew that she would be spending at least a little time in prison. While they weren't the perfect brother/sister duo, they had been very close before he went to prison and though she had grown very frustrated with him, she was still all he had all these years.

Of course, there was Bobby Fulbright or the Phantom, whatever or whoever he was. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he had depended on Fulbright from prison and allowed him to get close, too close. Without even realizing that this person was the very person he sought after for seven years. The man who claimed to want to 'rehabilitate' him back into society. How foolish he was to ever fall for that act, he thought to himself.

Then….there was Athena. Or maybe there was nothing left there. The little girl he went to jail to protect was now an adult and had other people to look out for her now. He had driven her to become a very successful lawyer. His services were no longer needed. Or so he thought.

He reached over gently stroking top of the birds head. "I guess you're all I've got left now Taka…"


	2. Chapter 2

Any parts written in Italics will indicate that it's a flashback.

I'm absolutely thrilled that this story got over 50 views in less than 24 hours. Thank you everyone. I figured I'd keep the momentum going. As I stated earlier I write chapters ahead of time so I can regularly update the story.

* * *

Athena and Mr. Wright were down at the courthouse finishing up one of their cases. The press conference was over a week ago, so the court was back to its usual self and the lawyers of the Wright Anything Agency were back to doing what they always enjoyed doing. As usual, Juniper was in the gallery watching. She had become somewhat obsessed with watching cases as she prepared for her bar exam, particularly cases that were being defended by one of the three lawyers.

"Wow that was a tough case to crack! But you guys did great, as always." Junie commented, clasping her hands together.

"Yeah, I didn't think I could bluff my way through that, but I managed to do it." Mr. Wright said sheepishly. "Though, I really do wish these Prosecutors would stop referring to me as old man…."

"You're only as old as you feel boss!" Athena smiled, throwing up a peace sign. "It was really exciting working with you again, we're a deadly duo."

"MAN YOU GUYS WERE SO AWESOME!" A loud booming voice said from behind them. Athena jumped from being startled, but as soon as she saw who it was, she smiled.

"OH! Robin Newman! I didn't expect to see you down here." She admitted. Robin was still as loud and hyper as ever, but held a much different appearance. This time, she was in a dress, but she kept her short haircut. "Wow, this is the first time I've seen you actually dressed like a girl…and you look adorable!"

Robin squeaked slightly as she did a twirl. "Doesn't it! I asked Juniper to design it for me and she did a fantastic job. She's a real A-R-T-I-S-T! I was in the gallery with her watching your case because you're such an inspiration to me."

Athena blushed as she stroked her ponytail. "That's so flattering. I'm so glad that you decided to continue with law."

Mr. Wright chuckled and held his hand out. "It's nice to see you again Ms. Newman."

Robin grabbed Mr. Wright's hand as hard as she could shaking it. "THANK YOU MR. WRIGHT. FORGIVE ME FOR NOT FINISHING YOUR GLORIOUS STATUE!"

Mr. Wright scratched his head in confusion before remembering the case that introduced him to Robin in the first place. Back at the Academy, Professor Means used the fact that Robin hadn't finished his sculpture to hide Professor Courte's body.

"Oh! It's quite alright Robin, no hard feelings." He chuckled.

"You are all…. such nice people…I'm so grateful that I got to meet youuuuuuuu." Robin sniffed. "I'll repay you by passing the bar exam and then sparring with you in the courtroom Mr. Wright. I'll be the prettiest Prosecutor e-v-e-r! So where's the man in red? The man with the CHORDS OF STEEL!"

"Yeah, where is Apollo?" Junie asked sheepishly.

"He had something he had to do today." Mr. Wright stated. He didn't want to specify since it really wasn't his place, even if he knew what Apollo was doing.

"Hmmm, I wonder what he's doing." Athena wondered out loud rubbing her chin. Ever since Apollo came back to work, he was open about mostly everything, or at least she thought he was. She wasn't sure if it was because that was his nature or he felt he owed it to them after being so secretive with his private investigation.

"Hurry! To the front of the courthouse, he's here!" A reporter yelled as a stampede of people raced towards the front of the courthouse.

"Oh my! What's going on, what's everyone going to see?" Junie asked, covering her mouth.

"I don't know, but why don't we go find out." Mr. Wright suggested as they headed in the direction of the front of the courthouse.

There was a mob of reporters and cameras and spectators outside, so many that it was hard to see just what was going on. The police were trying to calm people down and even Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth was trying to restore order. It took a few moments, but soon it was clear what all the commotion was about.

"Prosecutor Blackquill! Can we get a statement please!"

Athena gasped as she heard the requests. Blackquill had shown up to the courthouse, she wasn't sure what for but clearly he had attracted quite the crowd. He had withdrawn and gone into hiding, but the media frenzy around him hadn't. It was fueled more by the press conference, everyone wanted to speak with him. She herself was almost blinded by all of the flashing cameras and lights, yet Blackquill stood there, eyes closed in the middle of the circus. He looked much like he did, the last time she saw him, dressed in all black, hair down almost covering his eyes, pale with the exception of the darkness around his eyes and his long bushy ponytail. Reporters hurled questions from all different directions, while others pushed and shoved to get close, wanting to be the first people to capture his first public comments being a free man.

"SILENCE!…" He exclaimed, much like he always did in court. And suddenly, everything stopped. The reporters grew silent and everyone just watched. Simon opened his eyes and shot a cold glare into the crowd, before turning his head away.

"….Hmph. You fools, all of this circus and frenzy and for what? To get the first words of a released prisoner. You want comments, dispel of your camera equipment before I make you all swallow them whole."

With his cold, sharp words, all of the reporters complied. It was clear that he hadn't become a softened man since being released.

"No one handles crowd control quite like Prosecutor Blackquill…" Mr. Wright mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

With a small smirk, Simon tapped his finger against his forehead. "So, you unruly creatures can be tamed and controlled, like puppets….There will be no questions, there will be no talk of heroism, there will be no stories, unless of course you want to hear about what happened to the last inmate I shared a cell with before they realized I deserved one all to myself." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I will only say this once. I did what I did out of honor, like any Samuari would do and that's over. I may not have wielded the blade on THAT day, but I am far from harmless. I have always wielded blades of my own that have only been sharpened by the cold, hard solitary experience of my seven year sentence. I can and still will take off all of your heads if properly provoked." He finished with a huff and turned his back to them. "I am on a leave of absence right now but will be back to prosecuting cases shortly. Now, dispel." He ordered walking into the courthouse. He saw Athena as he walked past, but didn't say a word and continued walking.

"That…..was interesting. Though his act of protecting you all these years was noble, I suppose we really shouldn't expect him to start saving kittens from trees." Mr. Wright noted, rubbing his chin.

"No, I suppose we shouldn't" Athena whispered, rubbing her arm.

"Well, now that the show is over, I'm going to head back to the office and see if we have any new cases. Or if any of Trucy's magic tricks have backfired. I'll see you later Athena."

Athena went back into the courthouse, to see if she saw any sign of Blackquill, but he was gone.

"What's wrong Thena…..you know you can talk to me…" Junie asked.

"I don't know…I guess. He just seems to be struggling. I shouldn't have expected him to just come out of prison and be like he was before, but I feel like there's still, unfinished business that we have with each other. I have found closure with my mother being gone but I don't have closure with Simon. Living my life in that Space Center, he was one of the only few people in my life….."

* * *

_Athena smiled as she pulled the hat off of Ponco's head. "I think the pink one looked better on you Ponco." The young girl giggled._

"_Weeeeee! I LOVED THE PINK ONE!" Ponco rejoiced, doing a spin before going to retrieve the pink hat. Athena sat on the floor, waiting for the robot to return when she heard a knock on the door. They didn't receive many visitors, as the only people that ever came by were the ones that requested her mother's help with something. Her mother always instructed her to have the robots answer the door since they had recognition software, but Ponco was busy and she didn't know where Clonco was. Slowly, she stood and shifted over to the door and opened it. There stood a very tall, dark man, dressed in all black, with short dark hair. Athena quickly moved away from the door, somewhat frightened by his appearance. She didn't recognize him as someone she had seen before._

"_W-Who..are you…" She whispered, though she wasn't sure she had even spoken loud enough for him to hear here._

_The man attempted to try and soften his appearance a bit. "My name is Simon Blackquill…." He stated, offering his hand to her._

_Blackquill…. The name rang a bell to her of course. Her mother's assistant was named Blackquill as well. Still, the man was very intimidating. However, Athena could feel that he had no ill will in his heart, though his voice was a bit scary._

"_Welcome to the Space Center…I don't know you, I don't know you…." Ponco shouted, as her head rolled back and forth looking at Simon._

"…_..Hmph…." Simon huffed softly. "And what exactly are you? Ms. Bolts."_

"_I AM PONCO. P-O-N-C-O. PONCO."_

"_Alright, that's enough Ponco...no need to be alarmed." A stern voice said, coming into the room. _

"_Mama Aura! I don't know this person..I don't know this person."_

"_Ponco, brat. This is my little brother, Simon." Aura instructed. "Ponco, please register him into the recognition system."_

"_Registering….please let me get a look at your face…Registration complete. Welcome Simon!" Ponco cheered._

"_Very good Ponco. Simon, this is Ponco, one of my creations….and the little brat over there is Athena Cykes, Dr. Cykes daughter."Aura declared, motioning to the little girl._

"…_.Hmph….so this is what you do? Play with robots?How cute."Simon sarcastically stated before looking over at Athena. "Hello, Athena…"_

"_Hey! Ponco isn't a robot, she's a friend!" Athena exclaimed, bringing Ponco closer to her._

"_Hah…..very well then." He responded, shooting the child a smile._

"_Dr. Cykes can't wait to meet you Simon, she says you sound very promising." Aura stated, taking her brother into another room._

_Athena watched as they walked away. Simon had turned to look back at her, feeling her eyes on him until he was eventually out of sight. "He looks scary…..but his heart was not…."_

* * *

"Athena. I have to head back to the Academy now. Are you going to be okay?" Junie asked, snapping Athena out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yes! Don't you worry about me, I'm fine!" She exclaimed.

"Good. Oh and if you see Apollo, please tell him I said hello." Junie smiled sheepishly before walking away. Athena watched her walk away and went to turn around, when she bumped into someone.

"Oh I'm so sorry…Simon!" She gasped softly looking up at him.

"…Athena."


	3. Chapter 3

If you would like any other characters from Dual Destinies to make appearances (like Robin Newman in the previous chapter) or want to suggest which characters you'd like to see get together, comment.

WARNING: This chapter includes a flashback of Dr. Cykes murder at the end.

* * *

Athena's eyes locked with the dark eyes of Simon for a moment. His heart, his emotions were at such peace it was kind of amazing. She ALWAYS heard discourse whenever she was in contact with him and now, she didn't hear it. Simon snorted slightly and tipped his head upward.

"And just what are you staring at….Cykes-dono?"

"**He's peaceful…..**" Widget blurted out. Athena was caught off guard. Widget was a great asset when he was reading other people's emotions, not so much when it was her.

"Sorry….you just seem so...at peace Simon. After hearing all of the torment and pain that was in your heart at the trial, it feels really nice to see your heart and emotions at such ease." Athena whispered.

"Don't get all choked up, it's embarrassing." He smirked. "After everything that we've been through, I'd hate to have to cut you down for the crime of being emotional obnoxious…"

She gasped before shaking her head. "You could at least admit that you are happy now."

Simon scoffed, turning his head to the side. "The only thing you should be worried about is now I'm free to prosecute much more than I was locked up in the clink. And seeing how you only barely made it out of your first case alive, you'll have to sharpen your blade if you have any chance being the last Samurai standing in a courtroom against Prosecutor Simon Blackquill."

"…." Athena sighed, thinking back to how she nearly broke down and gave up in the Academy case when she was defending Juniper. She needed reassurance from Hugh, Robin, Junie, Apollo and even Simon to make it through that. "I think...we should talk."

Simon gave her a stare and stayed silent for a moment. "Not here. Join me in my office in ten minutes." And with that statement, he turned and walked away from her.

Athena was a bit nervous. She knew that eventually, a private conversation with Simon Blackquill was going to happen, she just wasn't sure if she was ready to do it NOW. Then again, maybe it was the right time. He was still on a leave of absence, so if it went bad, she wouldn't be forced to stand across from him in a courtroom in the immediate future.

* * *

"You know, I didn't really expect to see you down here at the Detention Center, especially not to see me….."

"Yeah….well…uh, I just wanted to make sure that you were doing okay in here Aura." Apollo mumbled staring at the table.

Aura yawned softly and placed her forearm down on the table, looking un-amused. "My brother didn't send you here to check on me did he? He tends to forget that we are cut from the same cloth, or blade as he would probably put it and am perfectly capable of handling myself."

"No, this has nothing to do with Prosecutor Blackquill, I doubt he even knows I'm down here. I came here all on my own." He re-asserted.

"Well, don't keep me in suspense, what brings you to visiting hours to see little old me. You got the justice you sought….."

"I did and so did you…..but even though I avenged Clay's death, I still…..feel alone. And I imagine that you probably still feel alone too. Even with knowing the truth of Ms. Cykes murder and the freedom of your brother."

Aura raised an eyebrow at him. "You believe so? And just what exactly, do you want to do about that? What do you think I can do?"

"Well, first things first, I want to defend you. You did a horrible thing keeping those people hostage, but you were desperate and I know what that feels like. I almost sent Athena to prison because I was so desperate to know who took my best friend away from me. Under those circumstances, I should be able to get you out of here pretty soon. I think the Blackquill family has served enough time in the court system don't you think. Besides, you're needed at the Space Center, with your robotics expertise." Apollo decided to leave out the fact that Blackquill had asked Mr. Wright if they could defend her because he was thinking about it from the moment she surrendered. He didn't know what it was, but something drew him to Aura.

Aura shrugged her shoulders and gave him a smirk, one that was eerily similar to Prosecutor Blackquill's. "Something tells me that you wouldn't really take no for an answer anyway. Okay, fine."

Apollo smiled confidently. "You're right, I wouldn't have taken no for an answer. So, I guess we should discuss what's going to happen, lawyer to client."

* * *

"**Sooooo nervous!**" Widget mumbled as Athena stood outside the door that read 'Prosecutor Blackquill'. She gasped and looked around to see if anyone was around to hear before she quickly grabbed the device around her neck to silence it. Still, she wasn't sure why she was nervous. She didn't feel it when she and Simon had confronted each other in the lobby. Maybe because this was the first time in over seven years it would be just them. It had been all these years and even though she knew him the way that she did, a part of her was still intimidated by him. She knew that she would be intimidated by rogue Prosecutor Blackquill, but she never expected to feel that way about Simon. But then again, maybe it was because she wasn't really sure who would be behind the door. She shook her head, trying to shake her nerves away as she was about to knock on the door, she heard a voice from the other side.

"Enter…..."

She jumped slightly and grabbed Widget again, knowing that it was about to speak. Between her fingers, it managed to muffle out "**How does he do that!**" It was then that she decided it would probably be in her best interest if she took Widget off, so she removed the device from her neck and tucked it deep down into her bag before she opened the door.

Simon was perched on the edge of his desk, rubbing the chin of his beloved partner Taka, who sat next to him on the bird perch. "Cykes-dono…."

Athena walked all the way in and closed the door behind her, sitting down on one of the empty chairs in his office. The first thing she noticed was all of the Samurai and swordsman décor. The man really did like his Japanese weapons. Like that, he was looking down at her, almost like she was a child again and he was standing over her. "We're not in court Simon…."

"….Hmph. Very well, Athena…" He smirked, obliging the somewhat vague request. "What is it that you wanted to discuss?"

"I saw the way that you handled all of the reporters, but if you're on a leave of absence, why are you at the courthouse?" She questioned.

To that Simon let out a laugh. "We both know that is not what you wanted to discuss." He tapped his forehead lightly with his finger. "But if you must know, I had just dropped by to see what Prosecutor had taken up Aura's case. You can surely see why that would be of interest to me. And even with all of my mastery in persuasion, even I couldn't convince them to let me take up my sister's case."

Athena had almost forgotten that Aura went to prison right after Simon was released. Now she was even more curious about how he was doing. "No, that's…not what I wanted to discuss." She took a deep breath to relax herself, reminding her that his heart was good, regardless of how intimidating he looked and acted. "You don't think we need to talk?"

"…..I don't see a reason why we need to converse any further. Everything that we needed to know and hear took place in court.. I already thanked you." Simon growled, turning his head to feed Taka a treat.

* * *

_Athena slowly came to from where she was on the floor. She rubbed her head slowly trying to figure out what happened. That was when she saw her mother on the floor. "Mom…..mom wake up." She whispered as she sunk down onto the floor next to her. "Ponco….Ponco! Please….lift this up on the table for me." She asked, as the robot rolled over happily obliging. "Of course Athena!" Athena stood up slowly, looking over the table. "It's okay…I-I…can fix you….."_

_Simon was headed into the Space Center as he had become somewhat of a regular from studying Psychology with Dr. Cykes. He headed for the Robotics lab because that was where she spent most of her time. When he opened the door, his eyes were immediately drawn to the red that was on the floor._

"_What..." He gasped softly as he looked over the scene, his eyes widening more as he saw the bloody katana on the floor and Athena standing by the maintenance table covered in blood. He quickly walked closer to the table, checking over Athena. _

"_Something's wrong with mom, so I'm going to fix her." She whispered softly, smiling at him. _

_It was at that time that Simon quickly pulled her away from the table. _

"_Hello Simon!" Ponco greeted as she acknowledged his presence in the room as she cleaned._

"…_..Damnit…" Simon had hardly noticed Ponco before she spoke. He remembered what he learned about Ponco from Athena and Aura, that all the robots at the center recorded everything that happened in their presence. His eyes quickly scanned the room, when his eyes fell on the katana. He didn't know much about robotics, not like Aura anyway but he knew a sharp sword could cut through almost anything. He quickly grabbed it off the floor and slashed Ponco into pieces. He grabbed the largest rolling case in the room, stuffing the robot's body parts into the case and closing it. He quickly scooped Athena up in his free arm. He quickly scanned the hall to make sure the coast was clear before he walked out, down the corridor. On his way, he passed the garbage shoot. He placed Athena down for a brief moment to open up the case and dumped the robots pieces down the garbage shoot. He then picked her back up and hurried upstairs to the apartment. _

"_We have to clean you up….." He mumbled, mostly to himself once he finally got to the apartment. He sat her down and went into the bathroom getting out towels and fresh clothes to clean Athena up. His mind racing the entire time and he didn't really have the time to sit and process it either. Once she was cleaned up, he sat her down. "Stay here Athena….." He ordered._

"_Simon…."_

"_Stay here!" He said again, only much more sternly. He left the apartment with the empty rolling case. He was finally able to ditch it once he got outside, then he just sat. He didn't know for how long, maybe an eternity. "Something….isn't right, it can't be….." He mumbled to himself. Eventually, he had met up with Aura._

"_Simon…..it-it's awful….Metis…she's…." Aura whispered, tears rolling down her face as she hugged him._

_He sighed softly as he wrapped his arms around her. _

"_Prosecutor Blackquill…..we'd like a word with you please…."_


	4. Chapter 4

Athena looked at him from where she was seated on the couch before looking back down at her hands. "What about now? Where do we go from here?"

Simon gave her a confused look and then laughed, smacking the table with his hand. "Now? Now you're my court rival."

"That's all? After all of this? We finally have a chance to re-connect…."

He turned his back to her, shaking his head. "Don't be naïve. Seven years ago you were my mentor's daughter, that's all. And now, well you just MIGHT be worthy of providing me a challenge behind my prosecutor's bench. We have no other use beyond that."

"No other use?! Simon I've spent the past seven years of my life doing nothing but thinking about you!" She shouted, now standing up as well.

"Is your admission of infatuation supposed to soften my blackened heart?" He smirked.

"I-I am NOT infatuated! I was worried about you being put to death. Did you even believe that I was going to save you?"

Simon turned around to look at her. "Seven years ago? Of course not. It would be illogical to believe that an emotionally charged child could get me out of the position I placed myself in."

"And during the Themis Academy trial? Did you believe in me? All you did was treat me like a child."

He smirked again. "I admit I was impressed when I saw you in court, seeing how far you had come in such little time. And it was the perfect time to test you to make sure you were emotionally strong enough. Because I knew I would need a strong lawyer that could and would fight to the death to get my conviction overturned. I would have been highly disappointed if you would have quit on me. By that time I hadn't found the phantom and I was running out of time and options. When you won that case, it put my mind at ease, somewhat."

Athena sighed softly. "I'm not even the one that saved you, Aura and Mr. Wright did that."

Simon stared at her and scoffed. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself. While it's true that my sister is the one that pushed my retrial and Wright-dono put all the pieces of the puzzle together, it was you that countered my psychological advantage and drew the truth out of me, even if it did make you the prime suspect. It was a rather noble sacrifice."

"I was just returning the favor to you…"Athena mumbled, stepping closer to her.

"Yes…well you came through on your end, but don't expect me to give you that type of encouragement in our future cases." He noticed she had moved closer and took a safe step back, turning his attention back to Taka.

"You told Mr. Wright that the Phantom's psychological profile was all you had left of your mentor. That's not true….you still have me."

Simon stayed silent, keeping his focus on the bird. "And what exactly am I suppose to do with you exactly? There is nothing you can do for me little girl."

"I'm not that little girl anymore. You're lying!" Athena declared. "I can hear it…."

He slammed his hand down on the desk again. "How dare you try to psychologically analyze me! You did more than enough of that in court and though it helped clear me, it has no use now!" He walked over to the window staring out of it. "This conversation is over Cykes-dono."

Taka suddenly seemed agitated and screeched, spreading his wings out he flew right at Athena.

Athena gasped and quickly left the room. When the door was closed, Taka seemed to calm down and flew back over to Simon's shoulder.

* * *

Elsewhere in the courthouse, Juniper sat in her usual spot in the gallery. While she was suppose to spend her time focusing on courtroom proceedings to learn how to be the most effective judge possible, she found herself too occupied staring at Apollo. He seemed so perfect in every way. He had saved her life, all because he was trying to get her Bum Rap Rhiny. She nearly got teary eyed in the court just thinking about. And to top it off, he was facing off against that dreadful Gaspen Payne.

"Juniper….are you paying attention to the trial?" Hugh asked, adjusting his glasses as he looked at her. She had decided to bring Hugh O' Connor with her since Robin wasn't available and he was studying to be a lawyer. She figured he could learn from Apollo!

"O-Of course I am Hugh, what else would I be doing?"

Hugh rolled his eyes a bit snorting. "Watching that dreadful red lawyer as usual. I don't even understand what you find admirable about it. His style and approach are amateur-esque at best. It's a real shame that Blackquill is a Prosecutor and I'm taking the lawyer course. That's a man I'd really love to learn from."

Juniper gasped at his suggestion. "No! If you want to be a good lawyer, you have to learn from Apollo. He's one of the best lawyers I've ever met." She gushed, sighing softly as she looked over him.

"Well if he's so great why don't you actually tell him instead of bragging about him to everyone else."

She looked at her friend. "A-Are you challenging me?"

Hugh smirked slightly, tilting his head so his hair moved out of his face. "Of course I am. I'm older than you so clearly I have more life experience and understand these things better. If you want Apollo so bad, then just go up to him and tell him." Over the past few months, Hugh had gotten over his embarrassment of being older than all his friends at the Academy. Even though he was 25, Robin and Juniper were still his best friends and that's all that mattered.

"F-fine, I'll do it as soon as this case is over." Juniper claimed. And as luck would have it, almost immediately after she uttered those words, the trial ended in another victory for Apollo.

"Well, looks like your time has come." Hugh responded smugly, taking her arm leading her out into the lobby to wait for Apollo.

Juniper wanted to run, she could already feel all the color leaving from her body, was she really ready to do this? To admit to Apollo her feelings. What if he didn't return them? What if he thought she was too young? Her mind was racing and it felt like the room was spinning.

"Hey, Juniper, Hugh!" Apollo shouted, walking over to them. "Did you see how I had Payne nearly chewing on his own taupe? That feeling never gets old." He said smiling boldly.

"Yes, well even a novice has his good days." Hugh retorted, before bring Juniper in front of him. "But Juniper here was very impressed with your performance and wanted to ask you something."

Juniper's eyes went wide and she quickly grabbed the sunflower on her head breathing into it. "O-O-O-Oh…yes I…I…" She started coughing and quickly grabbed her sunflower again.

"Oh! That reminds me, hold on I got you something." Apollo smiled.

"For me?!" She asked shocked.

"It's a few months late but, I got you another Bum Rap Rhiny." He said handing it to her.

Juniper was in shock beyond belief. Apollo had…..replaced her Bum Rap Rhiny….the thing he nearly died for! Hugh just shook his head, he wasn't fond of that little thing even though it was his best friend's favorite thing. He had hoped she had outgrown it in the past few months but clearly that wasn't the case.

"Thank you Apollo..." She wanted to throw her arms around him and squeeze him until the two little pieces of his hair stood straight up, but she somehow controlled that impulse.

"Now, what did you want to tell me?"

"O-Oh….umm, I…well I was wondering if…you could give Hugh a few pointers! Since he's still studying to be a lawyer." She mumbled, shifting her eyes from side to side.

"Wait….what…?"

Apollo beamed. Someone wanted to learn from him? He felt almost like Mr. Wright himself. "Well of course you can follow me around and learn a few things! It'll have to wait until another time though. I'm off to see Aura Blackquill."

Juniper's eyes went back to focus on him. "Aura…why?"

"Oh I'm defending her, going to try to get her out of jail as soon as possible. Man I better get going before I'm late. She's not a woman you want on your bad side." He laughed walking off.

"You owe me…" Hugh groaned. The last thing he wanted to do was spend a day with Apollo Justice. But Juniper didn't even hear him. She was too focused on watching Apollo leave. She sighed and held onto Rhiny as tight as she could. She didn't know what it was but she definitely didn't like him spending time with Aura Blackquill.

* * *

Back at the Wright Anything Agency, Trucy rubbed her head slowly. "Where are we supposed to put all of these paper's and files at Pearl?"

Pearl put her hands on her hips as she thought. "Well I've cleaned up as much as I can and there's not enough places to put these things!"

At that time Mr. Wright had returned. "Trucy, are you home from school yet. Whoa….where did all of these papers come from?"

"They're all for you, Polly and Athena daddy. Everyone wants the three famous lawyers to defend them!" Trucy smiled, bouncing.

"WHAAAAAATTTTTT? All of these are potential clients?" Phoenix questioned, his mouth hanging open.

"Oh Mr. Nick! Your popularity is back after you successfully overturned that Prosecutor's conviction." Pearl gushed.

Phoenix grinned. "Yes well, I'm glad that my reputation has been restored, but what are we going to do about all of these cases. It will take us days just to organize them all."

Apollo and Athena coinscidentally arrived at the agency at the same time, surprised by all of the commotion.

"Where did all these papers come from?!" Apollo exclaimed, trying to pick up some of them.

"You're all very popular Polly! All of these are requests from potential clients. Hmmm.. I haven't even checked to see if we have any phone messages yet." Trucy said, rubbing her chin.

"All of these are…..for us? Boss….what do we do?" Athena asked, helping to pick up the papers as well.

"Well, we're going to do the only thing we can. We're going to review all of these requests and see what we can do…" Though not even Phoenix was sure they would be able to get through all of them.

"I'll help too!" Trucy smiled.

"Before anyone goes through any cases, we're going to have to clean this place up, again." Pearl said with a sigh. "Mr. Nick, if you guys can't keep your things organized maybe it's time you think about getting a bigger place. I've cleaned this place up so many times in the past two weeks and it never looks any better!"

"Heh…..well you know how it goes sometimes Pearl…" Apollo said sheepishly. "But we'll try to be neater. I do have one case though that….I was hoping we could push to the top of the pile." He tossed a folder down onto a table.

Phoenix nodded. "I expected as much. That shouldn't be a problem."

"HEY! I want to know what's going on. Don't leave me out." Athena demanded.

"I'm going to take up Ms. Blackquill's defense. I know she held Trucy captive but she never really wanted to hurt anyone, she just wanted to save Prosecutor Blackquill."

Trucy nodded and bounced. "She really wasn't all that mean. She was too pre-occupied watching the trial. In fact we probably could have snuck away if anyone thought about it. She seems to really like you Apollo? And you know what they say, love is MAGICAL!"

Apollo groaned and shook his head. "What!? NO, I….she just needs my help and since she helped, I figured I would return the favor. The only thing I want to focus on right now is getting justice for our defendants! No distractions."

* * *

Walking through the halls of the detention center was almost enough to give Simon chills. He felt a little more at ease however with Taka sitting at his shoulder, keeping guard. He walked past a number of inmates of which he knew from the years he spent in there. He gritted his teeth with the sound of the shackles and rubbed his wrists. It was the last place he wanted to be but he needed to be there.

"It's always ironic when you come here Simon. To think just a few weeks ago you were the one sitting on this seat and I was on the other side." Aura laughed.

"Yes, well you shouldn't be in here in the first place."

Aura leaned back and tried to suppress a smile that was creeping on her face from her brother's concern. "Don't think about trying to do a jailbreak, I won't be in here much longer. Apollo has taken on my case and has promised to do what he can." She said rather confidently.

"Justice-dono huh? You seemed to have attached yourself to him." Simon teased petting the side of Taka's head. "Something going on I need to be made aware of?"

"It wouldn't be your business even if there was. But right now it's a strictly business relationship."

"Is that not enough for you?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her.

"Well, I have to admit, without all of those bandages and Clay's jacket, he's quite the looker. I can just imagine grabbing him by those two little horns of hair. Maybe I will take him to dinner when I'm free." Aura laughed.

Simon shuddered. "What a twisted soul you are. The mental image of you and Justice-dono is even too disturbing for me."

"Says the man that spends all of his time and freedom with his bird. What about you? I imagine you and that little princess have seven years of catching up to do?"

"Cykes-dono and I had a brief conversation and that was it. It's been a long time and there's nothing more to it."

Aura eyed him for a moment, than nodded. "Very good. That girl has already taken up seven years of your life, she doesn't need anymore."

Simon cleared his throat, really wanting the conversation to be changed. "So will I be out on the street when you're released?"

"Though the image of you sleeping in a cardboard box in a dark alley is quite amazing, I suppose I'll be an accommodating sister and continue letting you stay with me. You haven't torn apart my apartment too much have you?"

Simon smirked as his eyes flashed. "Not at all, however Taka has taken quite a liking to shedding his spare feathers on your bed."

"You better have that cleaned up before I'm out of here or there will be eagle on the dinner menu." Aura warned.

"Hmph, I believe that's a battle Taka can win hands down, but I will see what I can do…" He shot back before adding. "…it will be nice when we're both finally home Aura."

"I know Simon…."


	5. Chapter 5

It had been three months that fast. Three months since Simon was freed from prison and his name cleared. He stretched as he got out of bed, wearing a pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt. His long, black hair completely tossed all over his head. He almost had to laugh at the idea of what people would do if they would have seen him like this. He had successfully fallen off the face of the earth for the past six weeks, oddly needing the time to himself. It was crazy to think that someone who had spent seven years of their life in jail would ever want to be alone again.

"Good morning Taka." He smiled softly as he rubbed the birds head. He walked to the bathroom to freshen up because today was the day he was finally going to come out of hiding and head to work.

"I hope those stupid reporters have forgotten all about me by now." He grabbed a brush pulling his hair back into a ponytail. He had considered cutting it off, going back to the short look. But over the years he had actually grown attached to it and the bushy ponytail made him feel more intimidating. He had even let his bang grow out a bit longer so that it covered his eyes now that they weren't as blackened and his bags weren't as present.

He put on a new black and grey suit he had purchased and another long black and grey coat. His style certainly hadn't changed much. He whistled and Taka perched on his shoulder. "Good boy."

He was annoyed when he saw the reporters outside of the courthouse waiting for him to arrive. It had been three damn months and these people still wouldn't go away. Didn't someone else of slight importance get murdered or found not guilty? He had managed to ignore them when he walked inside. He managed to still somehow conduct himself in court even though the gallery was filled with reporters, just watching him. As if he were doing something he hadn't been doing within the past six months, only shackle free.

The lucky defense attorney facing him on his first day back? Apollo Justice. And even he felt a little uncomfortable with all of the attention that was brought onto their current case. There was nothing special about this case, it wasn't even a murder trial. He sighed softly as he rubbed his forehead.

"This is going to be a long day Apollo." He mumbled to himself.

* * *

The Wright Anything Agency was busier than ever with their new popularity. The good thing about it was that they got more cases, which meant they'd be getting paid more, or at least Athena hoped. It was a rare day when she was at the office alone with Phoenix Wright. Apollo was in court and Trucy at school. She thought it might be a good time to talk to him. Ever since he defended her and gotten Simon off the hook too, her admiration for the older man had grown. She looked up to him like a father, almost. She wasn't sure how he'd feel about talking personal issues with her but it couldn't hurt to try.

She slowly walked over to his desk. "Um boss?" She said softly, not wanting to interrupt him.

Phoenix looked up at him. "Hey Athena, oh it's time for lunch isn't it? Sorry about that. There's just been so much damn filing to do around here lately, I hadn't noticed."

They ordered in, not even having enough time to go out for lunch. She sat across the table from him. Her free hand played with the edge of her shirt. "I was wondering if I could talk to you about something….non work related."

Phoenix paused and managed to suppress a groan. He wasn't really good with personal matters. Hell he stressed about the teen problems that Trucy sometimes came home from school with. But it was clear the younger woman needed his help. He really knew how to pick staff; a bunch of young kids with personal problems and no other family to turn to.

"You know you can ask me about anything."

She pushed the food around on her plate. "Well, I know that Prosecutor Blackquill came back to work today from his leave of absence and I'm just a little concerned about seeing him at work since the last time we spoke, it didn't go very well."

Ugh, it was a boy problem. Something he dreaded even more. "Well….why do you think it went bad?"

"I was just trying to be his friend and he got all snippy." Athena insisted.

"Well you've been acting differently around the guy since the trial. I know a part of you still feels guilty that he was in jail for so long, but if you want him to open up to you, you're going to have to stop feeling sorry for him or pity. He doesn't want that. He just wants to try to get on with his life. You were a shy, scared girl when you first knew him, but you're not that anymore. He saw that in court. I think he'd rather have that Athena hanging around than the one who stumbles over her words around him. He wants you to treat him like Simon and less like Prosecutor Blackquill."

She knew Mr. Wright was right. She might have gone back to calling him Simon, but she was acting like he was Prosecutor Blackquill. She was nervous; she spoke softer and was acting weak. When she did it in court, it annoyed him, so doing it outside of court probably annoyed him even more. The last thing Simon wanted was everyone feeling sorry for him. He just wanted to put the entire seven year prison thing behind him. When she was younger, she was afraid of the outside world and weak, but the one thing she wasn't afraid of was him. He looked almost as intimidating, still wearing all black and not the friendliest, but she wasn't afraid of him.

* * *

_Athena had been in the psychology lab painting pictures. Ponco was off being fixed by her mom and Aura so she was by herself. She heard a knock at the door. At first, she didn't do anything, her mother always saying to not open the door for anyone when the robots weren't there, but then she looked at the time; 2:45pm. Suddenly, a smile came to her face as she knew who it was, since he came at the same time every visit._

_She got to her feet and ran over to the door, swinging it open. "Simon!" She squealed, hugging his legs._

_Simon smiled softly and ran a hand down through her hair. "Hi Athena." His eyes did a quick glance around the room as he walked in. "Ponco being fixed again?" It was the only time the robot wasn't near her._

"_Yes, Aura was very upset with me for breaking her again."She responded, shuffling her feet._

"_Don't worry about Aura, I think she likes fixing her."_

_His appointments with Dr. Cykes weren't until 3:15, but he started coming early to see Athena and she enjoyed having her own visits with him. The only person outside the space center besides Juniper that didn't frighten her. _

_She ran over to the closet where she pulled out a mat and placed it on the floor. She designated it as Simon's mat, as he usually sat with her on the floor when she was playing but she didn't want to get his suit and long coat dirty if he had to go back to court._

"_You've been painting pictures again?" He asked sitting down on the mat looking over what she was drawing._

_She was about to answer him but then looked at him. "What's wrong?"_

"_What do you mean? Nothing is wrong."_

"_I can hear something is wrong, making you frustrated."_

_He sighed softly forgetting that she had that ability. "Well….wait, where are you headphones?"_

_Athena looked back at her paintings. "Oh my mom…..is fixing them."_

_He huffed slightly and gave her a stern look. "You know, lying is a very bad habit. Go get them."_

_She sulked but got up going to get her headphones. Simon was nice to her but he was also very strict and she knew better than to disobey him. She went over to one of the spare robots and opened it up, taking her headphones out and sliding them on her ears._

_Simon knew she hated them, but he also knew why she needed to wear them, but it was too hard to explain to her. "Much better."_

"_So are you going to tell me what's bothering you now?" She couldn't hear hardly any of his emotions right now, but that didn't mean she forgot what she heard before she put them back on._

_He fixed her ponytail sliding them over her headphones so they fit her head better. "Just a difficult case that I've been working on."_

_Athena didn't really understand Simon's work. She knew he was called a prosecutor and sent bad people to prison. But when he got frustrated, he came to her mom for help. She smiled at him and quickly shuffled through all of the papers on the floor before picking one up._

"_I painted you a picture…." She said sweetly, handing it to him. _

_He smiled taking the picture. "This is very nice. You're such a little artist."_

_She giggled and blushed slightly. She did have a slight crush on Simon. He was ten years older than her but he was kind, mysterious and pretty handsome. And oddly enough, he understood her._

"_Do you want to meet one of my friends?"_

_Athena was puzzled. Simon never brought anyone to the space center with him. In fact, no one besides her, her mother and his sister ever knew he was there. "Your friend?"_

_Simon got up off the floor and went to the window, opening it. Then he whistled and suddenly a bird appeared. "This is Taka, I don't know why but for some reason he likes to hang around the courthouse. I saw him last week and he's been following me around ever since."_

_Athena came over slowly, looking at the bird. "I like his scarf."_

_He laughed. "Yes, well I figured if he was going to hang with me, he'd need something so I could tell him apart from other birds. He seems to like the scarf."_

_He took her hand and slowly brought it over to pet the bird, who seemed to like the attention. _

_When Simon glanced back at the clock, he sent the bird away. Dr. Cykes would be coming in any minute and she was a bit overprotective with Athena, so it was just easier if she didn't know he let her daughter around a hawk._

"_I'm going to draw a picture of Taka!"She smiled sitting back down on the floor as her mother entered the room._

* * *

She was brought out of her thoughts when Apollo came back, huffing loudly as he slumped on the couch. It was actually pretty dramatic.

"Busy day in court Apollo?" Phoenix laughed, leaving his spot at the table.

"Blackquill was absolutely brutal today. I don't know what he did for the past few months while he was off but he came back with a worse attitude than he left with. And here I thought being free of shackles would make him a little friendlier. He threatened to chop my head off six times, even in front of reporters."

"There were reporters there?" Athena asked, clearing the table and then walking over.

"Hah, I don't think anyone in that courtroom wasn't a reporter. There wasn't even room for Juniper to sit and watch. Even Myriam Scuttlebutt was there. And yes, she still uses that box." Apollo laughed. "The case we're doing isn't even that interesting, but I guess they all came to watch him. The first day of trial went fine, except for Taka going after some of the reporters, but man after the trial. They mobbed the lobby, taking his picture and the guy just snapped on them. Threw one reporter about ten feet, I've never seen someone fly like that since….since you hurled that police officer at me when we met."

"He threw one?!" Athena gasped.

"Yes, it got crazy. Baliffs were coming from every direction and then Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth came to get Prosecutor Blackquill. I don't know if he got in trouble for it though. So we're recessed until tomorrow."

After their lunch conversation, Phoenix knew that Athena wanted to go check on Simon. He gave her a little nod to slip out the door without really alarming Apollo.

"Well good thing you're off for the rest of the day. There's a pile of dishes that have your name written on them in dirt."

Apollo groaned and slowly pulled himself off the couch, dragging himself over to the sink.


	6. Chapter 6

Simon hadn't been in Prosecutor's Edgeworth new office yet, so he took the opportunity to look around while he was waiting. He hated to admit it, but he was nervous. He had been back on the job for less than six hours and he was already in trouble. Also, Edgeworth was his boss and he highly respected the man; probably the only person. He liked the way he conducted himself in court and he had worked hard to clear Simon's name. This wasn't exactly how he wanted to repay him.

He was broken out of his thoughts when he heard the door close behind him. Edgeworth walked around to the other side of his desk, looking at him. "Prosecutor Blackquill…"

Simon gave him a small nod with his head. "Sir."

"I understand that you're not a fan of all the attention your overturned conviction has granted you and security should have had the situation better handled, however now that you're no longer shackled you're going to have to learn some self control."

Simon turned his head and scoffed. "Why don't you just put me back in shackles then?"

Edgeworth shook his head at him. "I'm not going to put a free man back in shackles because he scares people and I'm not going send you back to prison Prosecutor Blackquill. Even though you've committed assault, I can let you off the hook this time, considering the circumstances but if this happens again, I'm afraid I won't have any choice but to put you back in prison. Something I don't want to do and I know you really don't want that either. For once in your life please be cooperative."

He met the older man's gaze and nodded his head. "Yes, sir." He wasn't sure how he was going to keep self control, but he didn't want to go back to prison.

"Very good. The current case you're working today with Defense Attorney Justice has been postponed until tomorrow. Why don't you go home and take the rest of the day?"

* * *

Athena had arrived at the courthouse while things were still pretty active. She could only imagine what would be on the news tonight about Simon. When she saw him coming out of the chief's office, she got worried. But he wasn't in shackles and it seemed like he wasn't being escorted to jail, so that was a good sign at least. He had a swift, hurried walk, which made his coat wave.

"I can't stop him here…" She whispered to herself. She wanted to talk to him, but she didn't want to do it around work, where he might be uncomfortable or they might gain unwanted attention. So at that point, she decided on something she probably shouldn't have, she was going to follow him home.

Simon kept his head low as he walked all the way home, which was about 25 minutes away. It would have been faster to drive or take the bus but he enjoyed the tranquility. Taka flew in front of him from tree to tree, already remembering how to get to his new home. Thankfully there were no reporters on the way, though he was sure they were too busy writing up stories for the evening news.

As she watched him walk up the stairs, she suddenly felt nervous. Did she really just follow him home? What if he thought she was some weird stalker? Still. It wasn't as if Simon would have told her where he lived on his own.

"Wait…how am I going to know which apartment is his?" She sighed softly. From the outside, all the apartments looked exactly the same. She ruled out some that had flowers in the window, since it didn't seem like that was his style, but that still didn't narrow it down. It wasn't until she noticed Taka swooping down into one of the windows. "Bingo."

She gave him a few minutes to get comfortable and relaxed before she made her way in behind the next person that went inside. This truly was crazy, but a small part of her got a thrill from the adrenaline. If she had remembered the placement of the windows correctly, she was outside his door.

"No time to chicken out now Athena, you've already done all of this…." She mumbled, slowly knocking on the door.

Simon had changed out of his formal court clothes by then and was sitting in a sweatshirt and sweat pants. He jumped when he heard a knock on the door. No one knew where he was, besides Edgeworth and he was sure that he would be the last person to give out his address. His eyes narrowed and he quickly grabbed one of the swords he had sitting on table because he was polishing them. He made his way slowly over to the door, standing beside it. In his head, he did a three count and then yanked open the door quickly holding the blade up.

"PLEASE DON'T STAB ME." Athena yelled out.

"Athena?" Simon responded, his voice full of confusion and surprise.

"I….I know that you're probably really confused right now about why or how I got here…."

He sighed softly and opened the door more, not wanting to draw any attention to himself by having a conversation in the hallway.

"You're probably wondering how I got your address. I didn't get it from Mr. Edgeworth, as he'd never give me that kind of info. I just…..followed you home."

Suddenly, his facial expression went from confused to anger. Maybe she could have phrased it a little better than she did. "You stalked me? Am I supposed to be relieved by this admission?"

Athena sighed twiddling her fingers. "No, I don't expect you to approve of my behavior. But I haven't seen or heard from you in six weeks. You're too stubborn to just let me know that you're alright. Plus….Apollo told me what happened after court today and I wanted to make sure that everything was okay."

Simon scoffed slightly as he went over to the table to retrieve his tea. "You mean you wanted to make sure I wasn't being thrown back into the clink."

"That too but…." Athena's words stopped in mid sentence. She had been so worried about his reaction to her following him home, she hadn't noticed his change in appearance. It was strange to say the least. Even when he showed up at the space center, he was always dressed for court.

"Something wrong Cykes-dono?" He asked when he caught her staring at him.

"It's…..I've never seen you without your coat and suit on is all." She shook her head a little. "Anyway, is everything okay?"

"I'm fine." He responded simply. Trying to keep it as short as possible so she wouldn't be able to pick up much emotion, though he was sure she still heard something. She always managed to. "So if that's the only reason you went through so much trouble to follow me home, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you."

This was going just like their last visit. He was probably getting ready to escort her to the door. She had to think of something, a reason, an excuse to stay close to him. "Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth wants me to counsel you." She quickly stated. Yes, she was lying through her teeth but it was the only thing she could think of right now.

Simon immediately shot her a narrowed glare. It seemed like he didn't pick up on her lying, but he pissed off.

"Surely you jest…..he can't be serious?"

Now was Athena's chance to pick. Come clean about just wanting to keep an eye on him, or carry the lie that he obviously didn't suspect. "Well, he's been worried about you and he thought that with my psychology background and the fact that we're not strangers, you'd be more willing to agree to meet with me than with psychiatrist….Legally, Prosecutor Edgeworth cannot give me your home address so that's why I followed you. I didn't want to discuss it with you at work." She felt bad about lying and now she was piling more lies and details up to make her sound believable, similar to what Simon was doing in court to try and keep her safe. They really were more alike than she first thought.

He was curious as to why Edgeworth didn't mention this when he had a conversation with him earlier but maybe he felt strange talking to Simon about it. Or maybe this was what he meant when he said he was letting him 'off the hook'.

"I know you don't think you need help and that's fine. I know you don't want me analyzing you either. I promise I won't do any of that. I'll just be someone you can talk to, as long as it isn't related to a case we're both working. You can try to get out of this but as you know, not much can stop Athena Cykes from doing what she wants."

Simon snorted at her confidence. It was clear this wasn't the same guilt ridden girl he chased out of his office six weeks ago. This Athena wasn't going to go away very easy and something about that actually excited him. He had spent years pushing people away, grown men didn't even want to test his patience and here was this young woman believing she could do it.

"How long would this be for?"

Athena had been caught by surprise when Simon didn't try to reject her help. "Well, it would be as long as you want me around, which is not at all right now, I know. But I've been told I'm pretty infectious. At the very least until Aura gets out of prison. Then you'll have someone else to harass you and you probably won't need me."

"I'm not a fan of this…however if my superior requires it, then I surely can't reject the offer even if I wanted to. And you wouldn't make that an easy resolution."

"No, I wouldn't."

He took his tea cup back into the kitchen, refilling it. "Very well, we'll meet on weekends only. And I'm sure you know that today is a Wednesday and not a weekend, so you can take your leave now."

Already satisfied with her results, she didn't see a reason to not do as he asked. She did kind of barge in on him unannounced. Maybe the man had plans for the evening. "Goodnight, Simon. I'll see you Saturday."

* * *

The visits were becoming more frequent and he wasn't sure why. He had done his part and the contact probably should have ended there but still, he went back, week after week.

"This is your third visit this week." Aura mumbled as she sat down in front of the glass. "You visit me even more than Simon."

"I'm sorry I couldn't get you out of here sooner." Apollo whispered, rubbing his hands together.

Aura raised an eyebrow to his nervous tendency. "You did better than any other defense lawyer would have been able to. Six months for something that would have gotten me at the very minimum two years isn't something to be taken lightly. And since I've already been in here three months, I'm halfway there. I was impressed that you got all of those character witnesses to testify on my behalf."

He shrugged his shoulders, running his hand through his hair. "Well, Trucy told me that no one was scared because you weren't menacing them and I didn't want people to get the wrong idea of you."

"I can't say the last time someone ever cared enough about my reputation to do something like that."

"Well, it's not as if you didn't have someone motivating you….."

Aura turned to look behind her, relieved the guards weren't paying any attention. She leaned closer to the glass to whisper. "Watch what you say around here. You had nothing to do with that hostage situation. You left before I did it."

"I didn't know what you were doing but, I didn't stop you either. In fact I even asked you to use your position to help me get what I want. So…I'm not totally innocent either."

"All you were doing was taking advantage of a situation already in place. No fault in that. Sometimes you have to seize the moment. How have you been doing though?"

Apollo ran his hand over his face. "Okay, I guess. I thought finding out who killed Clay would make me feel better but….I'm not sad, I'm really angry. He died just because he wanted to save that stupid capsule and I know it was a part of his job but…."

"But it's still not fair. I know what it's like to be angry all the time Apollo. I've been angry for seven years. I was angry that I lost Metis, angry that my brother had been taken away. Look how I treat Clonco; it's pretty clear that I've got some bitter feelings towards the entire situation. I haven't had a chance to heal yet and I hope that when I get out of here, I finally can."

"This is why I come to see you so much, I feel like you're the only one who understands my anger. Everyone is sad or at peace but no one is angry. This isn't the first person I've lost and it just sucks to keep losing people."

Aura sighed softly. She didn't know Apollo well obviously because their encounters were brief but they seemed to have so much in common and she just wanted to help him. "I wish there was something I could do for you. If you figure out how to heal all those scars make sure you let me in on the secret."

Apollo smiled softly. "I….wish you were out of here already."

Aura smirked leaning back in her chair. "If you're so eager for my release than I hope it means you're a shoe-in as my post release dinner date"

He was a bit stunned by her proposal and couldn't tell if she was being serious or just sarcastic. "Wouldn't you rather do that with your brother?"

"Believe it or not, Simon isn't the dinner at a nice place kind of guy. He might be a little different after being in prison for so long, but it's hardly a 180. He was always somewhat of an antisocial oddball."

It wasn't hard for Apollo to believe. Seven years would make anyone in prison bitter but he couldn't imagine Blackquill being an outgoing, positive social butterfly before than either.

"I'm actually facing him in court. He tossed a reporter in the lobby."

She laughed. "That's my little brother, never been the type to have patience for foolishness. I haven't seen him led in here with shackles again so I trust things worked out. But, since you brought up that little favor I did for you, I'd like you to return the favor. I would like you to keep an eye on Simon for me."

"Uh….he and I aren't really all that close…at all."

"I'm not asking you to hang out with him, just literally keep an eye on him and report back to me on what he's doing, since I assume these visits won't stop. I just want to make sure he's alright and I know if something is going on, he won't tell me when he comes. Telling me how he's doing in court and everything. Please?"

Apollo wasn't really comfortable with the idea of trying to spy on Blackquill's life. He could only imagine what would happen to him if he knew he was keeping tabs on him for his sister, but he still found himself nodding in agreement. "Okay."


	7. Chapter 7

That Friday, Athena was happy to have another case, this time with Apollo. They had gotten wrapped up in some of their own issues and she couldn't remember the last time they sat down and just spoke to each other. She smiled at him from across the table as they shared breakfast.

"It feels good to have another case together Apollo." She beamed.

"Yeah, it feels like we haven't worked together in awhile." He smiled back. "So what have you been up to lately?"

Athena contemplated whether she should tell Apollo about her plan to counsel Blackquill. She knew there was a chance that he wouldn't understand. Still, after what happened, she felt like any secrets between the two could be dangerous. Plus, she was bursting to get someone's advice about the lies she told Simon.

"Well…..after you told me about Prosecutor Blackquill's outburst, I wanted to see if I could help him."

Apollo didn't understand Athena and Simon's childhood connection. He had only learned about it through Aura and he was sure she didn't have the fondest moments.

"Why didn't you tell me that you knew him when you saw him in court months ago?"

"Because….there was a lot going on and I didn't want you to think I would be a weakness for knowing him. Be honest Apollo, if you would have known, you never would have wanted me to be your partner in Jinxie's case. You'd think I'd try to go easy on him."

He frowned a bit but nodded. "I suppose I would have. It must be strange….seeing someone after seven years."

"It's like seeing a ghost…and not just because his skin resembles one." She joked "It was relief and worry. I didn't really know what to expect and aside from the hair and darkness around his eyes, he really did look like the same Simon."

"What were Simon and Aura like?"

She laughed softly. "Aura was the scariest woman in the world to me." She sipped on her orange juice. "She always glared at me when I came into the room, like I was disturbing something. Now I'm wondering if it was just because I seemed to always be interrupting her time with my mom. She took her work seriously though and loved making robots. Simon was an old soul. He was a little awkward with people, like me and my mom; I guess that's why I gravitated towards him. He was into all that samurai stuff even back then and he always wore black, but he was gentle and caring."

"I can't imagine him being gentle at all."

"Well he didn't sic birds on people back then…"

"Do you…..remember Clay?" Apollo asked softly.

Athena sat back for a moment trying to remember. "I didn't leave my mom's floor very often but I think I remember seeing him around the space center grounds when I wandered off. He was always with Mr. Starbuck. He was nice too, just too loud for me with my hearing sensitivity."

Apollo smiled. "He hardly left that place. Anyway though, so what are you going to do for Prosecutor Blackquill?"

She pushed her food around on her plate. "Well, I told him that…Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth wants me to do therapy with him?"

Apollo looked shocked. "Wow he does?!"

"No…."

He rubbed his head a little, confused. "Wait but…..Oh, Athena. Don't tell me you lied to him? What if he asks him?"

"I know, but I panicked and I couldn't think of another excuse." She admitted, sighing as she gulped down the rest of her juice. "I hope he doesn't try to confirm it with Edgeworth or I'm so screwed."

Apollo laughed a little running his hand through his hair. "You really are, childhood friend or not, I don't think he'd be too pleased with you lying to him." He pushed his plate to the side. "Alright, enough sentimental talk, we've got a case to tackle. Who's the prosecutor?"

Athena snickered some. "Prosecutor Gavin."

Apollo let out a sigh that nearly mimicked that of Mr. Starbuck. "Why am I constantly getting stuck with that guy?"

"Speaking of Gavin, I think now is the time where you can tell me your history with the man."

* * *

Apollo figured it was only fair that he fill her in on his complicated background with Klavier Gavin as they walked to the courthouse. She seemed to go through nearly every emotion possible by the time he finished the story.

She sniffed softly wiping her face with a tissue, widget a deep shade of blue. "You…two…have…been through so much."

He shifted awkwardly. "Yes but don't be fooled, the man is still annoying as hell." He laughed.

As they walked into the courthouse she noticed Simon was coming out of courtroom no 3. He must have just finished a case. She was just about to skirt away from Apollo quickly to confirm that she was still meant to come by the next day, she noticed two officers on either side of him and she froze immediately. His back was to her and his hands weren't at his sides, she couldn't see them. She suddenly panicked, had he gotten into trouble again? But no one was talking about it in the lobby.

_Athena stood at the podium, so tiny that she needed something to stand on just so she could reach. Her eyes full of tears as she looked over at Simon. His head was down and his thumbs played nervously with one another as his shackles jingled. He was quiet but his heart was screaming like a scared child. It was the first time she could hear and feel his fear._

_She had never been in a courtroom before, but Simon told her all about them. She knew he wasn't there to work like normal._

"_Please….please you have to listen to me, he didn't kill her. His heart is saying he didn't kill her. I know he didn't do it." She cried out._

_There were multiple mumbles in the courtroom and she gripped her necklace, hearing people feeling and saying awful things about Simon. Saying that he was manipulating her and making her turn on her own mother. That he must have done some "sick" things to make a child so attached to him. It was just like when the police had spoken to her, asking her all about him, like he was some evil person. They didn't want to listen to her talk about the pictures he drew with her, just if he ever fought with mom or did something "weird" to her. They didn't understand._

_The judge shook his head and ordered the bailiffs to take her off the stand and back to her seat. She looked back over at Simon who offered her a small smile and mouthed 'Thank you'. But inside, she could tell he was trembling with fear as he approached the bench._

_She blocked out everything else and focused all of her attention on him, until she heard the judge say 'Guilty'. "NOOOOOO" She screamed out and bolted out of her seat, wrapping her arms around his legs._

"_Please….please don't take him. He didn't do it. Tell them Simon please. You're all I have left." She cried, trying to hold onto him as tightly as she could._

_His shackles jingled as his hands gently went around her head. "You're going to be okay, trust me." He whispered kissing the top of her head._

_He was quickly yanked away by guards as she was also grabbed and pulled in the opposite direction. "NOOO SIMON!"_

"Stop! He didn't do it. Please!" She suddenly screamed out, making Simon quickly turn around from down the hall.

Apollo was immediate at her side. "Athena, snap out of it. What's wrong?"

She opened her eyes and found the entire hallway was silent, everyone was staring at her. It took her a moment to collect herself and realize where she was. She didn't know when she crumpled to the floor but she was slowly getting up now. Her eyes met with Simon's and she was greeted with a mixture of confused and worry. His hands were free, there were no shackles and the guards that were at his sides were now gone.

"Athena….." Apollo mumbled, shaking her shoulder a bit.

"I'm…..sorry, I'm okay now." She whispered back to him.

* * *

She didn't sleep much that night and was sure that it would show. A part of her considered cancelling on Simon, she didn't even know if he remembered that they agreed to meet on Saturday. However, she was answered a little while later when she got an email saying for her to show up any time after eleven. She considered cancelling again, but after seeing his worry yesterday, she was sure he'd be suspicious. And he wasn't a man that liked to cancelled on she was sure. Not after all she did just to get to this point.

_She sat on the floor watching one of her favorite TV shows while she brushed her dolls hair. She wasn't paying much attention, it was to pass time. It was almost time for Simon to come to meet with her mom and spend time with her._

_2:45 came and passed and she frowned slightly. Simon was never late in the five months he had been coming to the space center. She peeked into the robotics lab at 3:15 to see maybe if he went straight to her mom today but he wasn't there either. What if something happened to him? He never missed an appointment with her mom. _

_Slowly, Athena pushed the door open. "Mom….Simon's not here. He never misses a meeting. What if something happened to him?" She frowned, her eyes wide._

_Metis walked over to her, seeing the alarm in her daughter's face. "Athena, calm down. Simon's okay but he's not coming today. He got held up at work and he couldn't come today."_

_Athena's face went from worry to complete disappointment. "But…he always comes. He makes a promise."_

"_I know and I'm sure he really wanted to be here, but he had to work late."_

_She sighed and shuffled back to the psych lab. Metis closed the door back and matched her daughter's sigh. _

"_She's very attached to Simon." Aura said quietly, looking up from where she was working._

"_I know and I'm grateful for your brother Aura. He can connect with her in a way…that I just can't seem to do."_

_Simon came to the space center the next day with a small bag. It wasn't one of his scheduled days but Aura told him how disappointed Athena was the day before and he knew she'd carry that sadness until the next time he showed up._

_Aura shook her head at her brother. "Your day off is today and you'd rather spend it appeasing to an 11 year old girl. I don't get you little bro."_

_Simon ignored her as he was use to the teasing by now. "She's just a kid." He stated flatly._

"_And she's got you wrapped around her little headphones." Aura joked._

_They went to the psych lab and Athena looked up when the door opened. She had to stop herself from bolting and hugging Simon because she was sort of sad and mad that he couldn't come yesterday. So she just looked at the two siblings. It was sort of funny that Aura always called Simon her baby brother. Their age difference nearly matched her and Simon's but the man towered over both of them._

_Simon was caught off guard when he wasn't greeted at the door with his usual hug and quietly shushed Aura away, closing the door behind her. _

_Athena could feel the slight disappointment in his heart but still didn't say anything._

"_No hug?" He frowned softly, and it wasn't for dramatic affect either. As much as he hated to admit that most of his comfort came from an 11 year old, it was true. He loved his sister and she loved him but she wasn't the warmest person in the world. He walked over to sit on the couch._

"_I missed you yesterday." He stated._

_She walked over slowly sitting next to him on the couch. "I missed you. I was afraid something happened to you….you never miss an appointment."_

_He smiled softly and brushed her hair out of her face. "You shouldn't worry about me; it's my job to worry about you. I'm sorry I couldn't come, I got caught up with a long case at work and didn't get home till late." _

_She smiled at him softly, feeling the sincerity in his heart, though she could see it all over his face. "What's in the bag?"_

_His smile slowly grew into a grin. "A present…."_

_She gasped and started bouncing "Is it for me?"_

"_I'm sure you know it is." Simon laughed handing her the bag. "Be gentle though."_

_She plopped back down on the couch taking the bag gently and putting her hand in it, pulling out a glass bird. "Ohhhh it's so pretty. Thank you Simon" She giggled, giving him the hug she would have normally given him at the door._

* * *

She found herself outside his apartment. Her hand instinctively playing with widget around her neck. She didn't want to go in there like a nervous little girl because that's not who she was anymore. She wanted to be like use to around him, warm and trusting.

"I'm Athena Cykes and I'm fine…." She whispered, knocking on his door.


End file.
